Mexican drug trafficker sentenced in U.S. court

HOUSTON, April 14 (Reuter) A Mexican drug trafficker, who cooperated with
prosecutors investigating alleged ties between drug traffickers and Mexican
government officials, was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison.

As part of a plea agreement, Marco Enrique TorresGarcia was sentenced to 25
years after pleading guilty to conspiracy, avoiding a mandatory life term by
providing information in two recent drug cases and a third with
``international implications,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Clark said.

My life is in danger until I die because of all the political implications in
which this case is involved,'' Torres said through a translator before the
sentence was handed down.

According to news reports, Torres cooperated with prosecutors investigating
the source of more than $100 million in Swiss bank accounts controlled by
Raul Salinas de Gortari, brother of Mexico's former President Carlos Salinas
de Gortari.

Raul Salinas, who is being held in a Mexican prison on murder, illicit
enrichment and money laundering charges, has denied any ties to drug
traffickers and said the account included investments in a trust fund by
several prominent Mexican industrialists.

Torres also was listed by U.S. prosecutors as a witness but never called to
testify against convicted drug kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego and former Mexican
Deputy Attorney General Mario Ruiz Massieu in recent cases here.

He has become much more significant than any of us ever thought,'' Ralph
Martinez, Torres' Houston attorney, said.

In addition to the prison term, Torres was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and
forfeit a Texas home and a south Texas bar, the New Roadhouse Entertainment
Centre, which prosecutors said was used as a front for his drug trafficking
operation.